Satellite imagery indicates that a new airstrip is being built on Zuqar Island in the Red Sea off Yemen’s western coast, in what analysts say could mark a significant new development in the country’s long-running conflict.
More importantly, the site is strategically close to the Port of Hodeidah, used by the Houthi rebels in Sanaa as a springboard for maritime attacks in the region of the Bab el-Mandab Strait.
According to analysis by Planet Labs PBC, images show the construction of a nearly 2 000-metre runway on the volcanic island, located about 90 kilometres southeast of Hodeidah.
The imagery suggests that work began in April with the building of a dock and subsequent land clearing along the site of the planned runway.
By late August, what appeared to be asphalt had been laid, while pictures taken in mid-October show runway markings being painted.
No entity has claimed responsibility for the project, but Associated Press reported that ship-tracking data had shown a Togolese-flagged bulk carrier, the Batsa, spending nearly a week alongside the island’s new dock after arriving from Berbera in Somaliland.
The news agency also cited maritime records linking the Batsa to a firm registered in Dubai.
The construction has drawn attention because of the island’s due-north position in relation to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the vital shipping chokepoint linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Analysts have suggested that the site could be used for surveillance, logistics or military purposes by forces opposed to Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, although this has not been confirmed.
The United Arab Emirates, a key member of the Saudi-led coalition that has fought the Houthis since 2015, has previously established or supported bases on islands in the region, but it has made no public comment regarding the Zuqar Island project.
While the runway’s full purpose remains unclear, experts warn that any new military infrastructure in the Red Sea could heighten tensions in an area already strained by attacks on commercial shipping and the ongoing conflict in Yemen.
